


Somebody to have, somebody to hold

by pandora_rose_xo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hogsmeade date, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Past Romione, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24165469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandora_rose_xo/pseuds/pandora_rose_xo
Summary: When there is a mess up with the Owl Post Terry finally finds a way to show how much he cares about the brightest witch of his year.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Ginny Weasley & Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger & Terry Boot, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley (past), Terry Boot/Hermione Granger
Kudos: 11





	Somebody to have, somebody to hold

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for [Sing Me A Rare: The Mashups.](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Sing_Me_a_Rare_Mash_Ups)
> 
> My song prompts were:  
>  _Someone you loved_ by Lewis Capaldi and _50 ways to say goodbye_ by Train
> 
> but due to unforeseen circumstances, I couldn't complete it in time but was so close to finishing I decided to post it up anyway.

Hermione, 

I want to say that I am sorry to be doing this like this, but I’m not really. I think we could both see this coming from when our futures took different paths. We worked at it, we really did try, but maybe we just weren’t meant to be together. Over the last few weeks, I have realised that I love you, just not in the way that a boyfriend should. My days are long and hard and auror training is far worse than I expected. Part of me regrets just not coming back to school with you -- but it is too late for that now. And if I was a good boyfriend I should want you here with me... But after a long day, I am glad you aren’t as all I can think is that you would tell me ‘I told you so’ and that infuriates me. 

Anyway, all that is me just trying to say I think we need to break up, I want to stay friends, we’ve been friends for so long now I think it would be weird if we weren’t. We had a good run, but that is over now. I love you, you are like a sister to me. 

Hope you are safe and well and Hogwarts is a bit safer than it was when we were all there together. 

Ron 

* * *

Tears welled up in his eyes as Terry finished reading the letter that wasn’t meant for him. Why he hadn’t checked who it was addressed to was beyond him, this mix up had been happening for weeks. For some reason, he would randomly get some of Hermione’s owl post. This was definitely one that he would rather not have received. He was upset and angry for her all at once at this piece of post, he was annoyed at himself for not checking whether it was for him or not. How could he take her this letter and let her know that he had read its contents, it wasn’t as if he would even be able to hide it if he could reseal it. He had always worn his emotions clear as day on his face, and with how he had always felt about her he knew that the hurt would be clear before she even read it. How could he do that to her? But he knew that he had to. Just not right now, he would find the time, but this morning was not it. He stowed the letter inside the pocket of his robes, vowing to keep it in his bag until he found the right time to give it to her if there was ever going to be a right time. 

Seeing that letter had made some bad memories of Terry’s resurface. Memories he had hoped to never have to revisit. It reminded him of how his one and only relationship had ended. Too abruptly, she had promised him the world, and then just disappeared one day with no warning or explanation and left him to pick up the pieces. He thought she was the love of his life, but the way she so callously ended things made him realise she wasn’t. After reading that letter to Hermione he couldn’t believe that Ron could just do that to someone he professed to love... Even if it was only like a sister. Stuck in his thoughts and foul mood Terry had suddenly lost his appetite so left the Great Hall, ignoring the questioning stares of his friends. He just needed to get away and to get out of his own head. Before the bitter tears fell. 

_ It was four months ago, summer was nearly over, and he was preparing to head back to Hogwarts, unlike many of his peers he felt that going back, and finishing his education would be a good thing. Unfortunately, there was one rather problematic snag there, his girlfriend… She was a muggle that lived close to him. After the horrors of the past year he wanted some fun this summer, she was nice, pretty and liked him. She knew nothing of what he’d been through or seen so she was someone that he didn’t need to talk about it with. Or she was nice…. As they drew to the end of August she seemed to just disappear from his life, with no warning or no real explanation, as if she had just died. It broke him, He thought that maybe, despite everything, that they could have a future together, that they could live a happy life. How wrong he was.  _

He was only on the second floor when he felt them, the hot tears spilling over. He took off at full speed praying to gods he didn’t believe in that he could just get  _ somewhere _ until the memories - and the tears - subsided. 

::: ::: :::

A few days later, Terry decided as horrible as it was going to be, he needed to give her that letter. So he went on a search of the castle, trying to find the girl with the beautifully unruly hair whose heart he would cherish if he was ever lucky enough to have it belong to him. It didn’t take him long to find her, she was in the first place he thought to look - the library; and when he was there he suddenly got nervous. He knew that he had to do this as keeping it from her wasn’t right, he just didn’t want to be the one to bring her something that will cause so much pain. “Hermione,” he said, his voice lowered so the formidable librarian didn’t come and scold him for talking too loudly. “Can I have a quick word?” He added as she turned to face him, a small smile upturning the corners of her mouth, that gave him butterflies in the pit of his stomach and made him groan out loud.  _ Why did he have to be the bearer of her bad news? _

“Sure,” she nodded. Clearing a space on the table beside her and pulling the chair out for him. 

As he took the seat, perching on the edge he pulled out the envelope from his bag. “I… uh…” he began, unable to form a sentence when she was sitting so close. “I got this the other day, opened it by accident. I’m sorry.” He rushed, handing over the envelope. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he blushed. Why was she suddenly having this effect on him? 

She pulled out the letter and scanned it, her eyes gleamed with tears waiting to spill over and his heart throbbed. She turned to look at him, “did you read it?” She asked, the hurt only hinted at in her voice. 

“I’m so sorry,” was all he could say. “I thought it was for me… from someone else. Though thinking about it how they would know to even send me something here would have been a mystery. I really am sorry Hermione, it’s cruel to do something like that to someone.” He rushed, hating to admit he had read something so personal. 

Hermione knew that she wasn’t going to be able to work now, so she started packing up her things. She wasn’t even angry at Terry, it was an easy mistake. No one expects to get someone else’s owl post, even though it had been happening recently he wasn’t to know. She was more infuriated at Ron than anything, breaking up with her in a letter was cowardly at most, though pretending that things were still fine between them would have been too, she knows as it was what she had been doing. The greatest emotion she felt was relief, it meant no more pretending. Her heart went out to Terry though, something horrible must have happened to him for him to think that it was a letter for him. 

“Want to come for a walk?” She asked him, they could talk, try to help each other, that's what friends were for right?

“Uh, sure. Don’t you want to be alone though?” He asked, looking at her with a curious expression on his face. 

“Not really, but it’s your choice.” She said, as she got to her feet and pulled her bag onto her shoulder before turning to walk towards the doors, leaving him to make up his mind. 

It took him a moment of staring at her back, time for her to nearly get to the doors, to snap to it and get up to follow her, “wait up,” he hissed as he tried not to run the length of the library to catch up with her. Madam Pince would not be happy with him if he did that. 

“I wasn’t exactly going fast,” she said as she heard him approach, there was no need to rush. She smiled to herself. She had always kind of liked Terry, he was nice… yes, some of his friendships left a lot to be desired but they could have been worse. He was always so nice to her when they were in Dumbledore’s Army, and even before that. She knew that he was a pureblood but he had never cared about the fact she wasn’t unlike so many others. 

“I just didn’t want you to leave without me,” he panted. “Can we just stop a second?” He asked as they got out into the corridor. 

She obliged, by stopping and moving to the wall so as not to block the way for any other students. 

“Why don’t you seem upset?” Terry asked her, there was a hint of upset when she first read the letter, just like there as a gleam of tears in her eyes. They both seem to have disappeared now. 

“Hang on,” she said. Glancing around them, searching for a classroom that would be empty… there was no way that she was going to talk about this somewhere that anyone could overhear her. “In here,” she added, finding an empty classroom and taking Terry by the hand to drag him inside with her. She shut the door, locked it with her wand and cast a Muffliato Charm on the door so no one on the other side could overhear. She whirled around, dropped her bag to the floor and stalked over to a desk that she immediately sat on. “I’m not upset because I had stopped loving him.” She admitted. “I am angry, I am frustrated, but I am not upset.” She swung her legs backwards and forwards, her gaze glued to the floor. “We got together right at the end of the battle, my emotions were running high and things just fell into place. It wasn’t long before I realised what a mistake I had made. It was just that I had been through so much during the war and I just needed somebody to heal me, somebody to have me, to hold me, somebody who got what I had gone through, somebody who had been there. Does that make sense?” She looked up and met Terry’s eyes, hers back to being full of tears. “He just numbed all the pain. Or he did for the start.” She sighed. 

“I get that,” he took a tentative step towards her, “I needed the same, but different. That probably sounds crazy. I needed someone too, but someone that had been so far away from it all, who had no idea about any of it. Sophie was that for me.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hermione asked, she had offloaded on him and felt it only fair to at least give him a chance to do the same if he wanted to. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I’m here if you do.” 

“You sure?” He asked cautious of the fact she may only be trying to be nice. “There isn’t really much to tell. She was a girl in our village. A muggle girl. I just wanted to feel normal, to forget all about the war and the battle. I was lucky, my family came out of it pretty unscathed, we weren’t death eaters and my parents managed to get away with their lives. We’re blood traitors to them you see. Just like Ron’s family.” He hated mentioning Ron after everything, but his family were well known for being blood traitors and she knew them, so it was the only comparison that he could think of. “Anyway, maybe we shouldn’t dwell on them.” He suggested, he didn’t want her to end up upset, even if she wasn’t right now. “Just know I am here to talk if you ever want to.” He offered, wishing that it didn’t sound so uncaring, but he loved her and didn’t want her to ignore him forever, but also knew that now was totally not the right time to be attempting to hit on her. 

::: ::: :::

  
  


Hermione usually hated when professors paired the students up for projects, but when she looked at the group list and saw that she was to work with Terry she couldn’t help but smile. Since the whole mishap with her post, and Ron’s break up letter, she’d become close to Terry, sometimes she would find herself wondering what it would be like to be more than just friends with him. She hadn’t mentioned that to anyone, and she probably wouldn’t because it was too soon for either of them, even though it had been months. She made her way out of the Gryffindor Common Room that morning with a broad smile on her face as she headed down to Breakfast. 

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” She heard a voice ask, and she turned around to face him.

“Oh, nothing much.” She said, her smile grew even broader. “Have you seen the group lists for  _ class _ ?” 

“Yeah, you’re stuck with me I see,” he said as he wheeled her around by her arm and headed down to The Great Hall with her. “Is… is that what has got you smiling? I thought you hated group projects?” He looked confused for a second. 

“I wouldn’t say  _ stuck _ exactly.” She nearly skipped a few steps in her glee. “And I only hate group projects when they pair me with people who are lazy or just don’t do the work.” She nudged at him in the ribs. “Come on, we don’t want to be late... all the food might be gone!” 

“We both know that the house-elves keep the food platters stocked up until the end of breakfast, not wanting any student to go hungry.”

They hurried to The Great Hall, splitting up and heading to their own tables with some reluctance. “See you on the other side,” Terry called to her with a grin as they parted ways. At one time Hermione wouldn’t have found that funny, but now she cannot help but head to an empty seat with a smile on her face. 

“Earth to Hermione,” a voice said as a hand darted out and pulled at her robes. “You were going to walk by me,” Ginny said, a scowl on her face. “What’s gotten into you lately?” 

“Oh nothing,” Hermione said dreamily as she sat in the empty seat beside Ginny, whose scowl looked remarkably similar to that of her mothers, which made Hermione shudder and snap out of her thoughts. “How are the sausages today?” She asked, making a point to change the subject quickly. Ginny knew that she wasn’t with Ron anymore, Hermione remembered all too well the younger girl's reaction when she was told. It took everything to get her not to send a howler to her youngest older brother. 

“Good,” Ginny said, spearing a couple with a fork and loading Hermione’s plate up with sausages, eggs, fried bread and tomatoes. Acting a lot like Mrs Weasley, not that Hermione dared to say anything.

“Thank you, Ginny,” she smiled and began to eat. 

“Did I see you coming in with Terry Boot?” Ginny asked, fishing for gossip. 

“Maybe,” Hermione said, not wanting to fuel this conversation more than she had to. “And before you even think to ask, we are just friends, nothing more going on.” She turned her attention back to her breakfast, pouring herself a glass of orange juice that she took a long sip of. 

“Ooh, touchy much?” Ginny asked but thankfully dropped it. 

Over the following weeks, whilst working on the project Hermione and Terry began spending more and more time together, picking desks that were side by side instead of the other side of the room to each other, having study sessions in the library and the courtyard if the weather was nice enough. Hermione quickly realised that the more time they spent together the more time she wanted to spend with him, and not just doing their project. He made her smile, made her laugh and made her heart feel lighter than it had in quite a while. And she wasn’t the only one feeling that way, as he was feeling the same. 

Three weeks after the project was over, and they were still spending as much time together a Hogsmeade trip was organised, and Terry blurted out one evening once their classes for the day were done “Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?” 

Hermione was beyond gobsmacked, “like on a date?” She had to clarify before her brain would compute an answer. 

“Yeah, only if you want it to be.” He said, leaning against the corridor wall outside of the potions classroom. A hand nervously mussing his hair up as he awaited her answer. 

“I would love to.” She replied, smiling at him. “I thought you would never ask.” 

That Saturday Hermione woke up a bagful of nerves, this was going to be her first official ‘date’ with anyone. Her fleeting relationship with Viktor never amassed to anything much, and with Ron dates always felt too clumsy, they were good friends and had things they liked doing. Going on mushy romantic dates wasn’t his sort of thing anyway. Not that she really expected today to be a mushy, romantic date either. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Yes, he had said it was a date, but would they be doing normal Hogsmeade weekend stuff just together? 

She heard Ginny’s knock before the dormitory door opened, she had confided in GInny about everything, needing a girls opinion and not feeling one bit cautious or uncomfortable to be going to her ex's sister, seeing as they were friends before she started dating Ron, and there is little that could change that in her opinion. 

“What do I wear?” she said, turning her glazed expression towards her friend. 

“Casual,” Ginny said defiantly, stalking to the older girls' school trunk and pulling out clothes, “you need to feel comfortable, it’s just a Hogsmeade weekend.” She reminded Hermione with a look. “You don’t want to be too dressy, do you?”

“No,” she sighed, “I guess not. Casual it is.” She nodded. Watching as Ginny picked up and discarded various items of her clothing until she found something she deemed appropriate. 

Hermione had lost track of how many things Ginny had thrown around the room before she heard a “this is perfect,” come from the redhead’s mouth as she held up a pair of skinny jeans, a check shirt and thick cardigan. She had to admit, Ginny was right. She would be comfortable and warm enough in the spring sunshine in that. But it looked smart enough that he would think she had made an effort. 

As they had agreed to meet in the village Hermione made her way down there with Ginny and Luna. As they neared the overly familiar village Hermione’s nerves grew. 

“I don’t think I can do this,” she said, her feet coming to a halt. 

“It’s just a date,” Ginny said gently, “you don’t have to marry him after one date!” 

Hermione scoffed at the words, “what if he’s changed his mind - we are such good friends now and I don’t want to lose that.” 

“And who says that you will?” Luna asked, linking arms with Hermione “these are just nerves talking, nerves are good, they show that this means something.” 

Hermione didn’t know how to take getting advice from Ginny and Luna - yes they may be her best female friends, but they were both younger than she was and Ginny was her ex's little sister, so weird was an understatement to how she was feeling right then - on top of the nerves. 

It wasn’t long before they arrived in the village and Hermione noticed him standing near The Three Broomsticks and her heart fluttered in her chest. Despite her two previous relationships, she had never been on a traditional first date; her relationship with Viktor was so fleeting and juvenile the only real date they ever went on was to the Yule Ball together, as for her and Ron, they went on a few dates but nothing to write home about. She knew that for the date to officially begin she needed to make her way over to him, but as much as she willed her feet to move they wouldn’t budge. Noticing her reluctance Ginny gave her a good shove in his direction saying: “you can thank me later.” 

“Have fun,” Luna added before the two of them walked further into the village leaving her alone with Terry. 

“Hi,” she said, her voice came out higher than she had meant it to, as she closed the remaining space between them. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long?”

“Not really,” he smiled, the dimples in his cheeks showing. “Was beginning to wonder if you would show, though,” he admitted. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at her feet. She hated the idea of him thinking she wouldn’t show. 

“Don’t be,” he hooked a finger underneath her chin to bring her eyes up to meet his own. “I’d wait forever and a day for you,” he smiled, the smile reaching his eyes and making them glitter in the sunlight. 

“I hope to never have to make you wait that long!” Hermione said a smile on her own face. “What have you got planned for today then?” 

“Starting off with a drink in here,” he pointed to the pub, “then some shopping and back here before heading back up to the castle. Does that sound okay?” 

Hermione’s smile widened to a grin at his plans, and his question. “That sounds perfect,” she said, taking hold of his hand as they headed into the familiar pub. 

The time went on, they had been to a variety of shops within the village, even had tea and cake in Madam Puddifoots, and had gone back to The Three Broomsticks, but it was getting towards late afternoon and they needed to begin heading back. “I don’t want today to end, I have had a lovely time,” Hermione said, leaning her head on his shoulder, smelling the sunshine on him and an undertone of an unfamiliar, but pleasant, aftershave. 

“So have I,” Terry said, resting his cheek on her head, “it doesn’t have to end just yet though, we don’t have to rush back.” 

“Should we at least finish these and then head off?” Hermione asked, gesturing towards their half-empty glasses. “We can take a nice, leisurely stroll back to the castle, and through the grounds.” She smiled at him, her teeth showing ever so slightly, she was happier at this moment than she had been for a while; she found it strange not being with the girls or guys, but she hadn’t missed them at all over the course of the day which was a very good thing. 

“Sounds good to me,” he smiled, kissing the top of her head before she sat up. Missing the blush that spread over her cheeks as he did. 

Before long they had finished their drinks and were heading out of the door hand in hand, their free hands carrying bags of shopping, Terry carrying more after insisting that he carry the majority of Hermione’s for her. “You know you didn’t have to carry those bags,” Hermione said for the fourth time in the last ten minutes. 

“You’ve said that, and I will repeat, what sort of date would I be if I made you carry your bags?” He asked, “plus they aren’t heavy so there is nothing wrong with me being nice and carrying them for you.” 

She sighed, giving in as she knew that there was no argument that she could give to convince him she would have been fine carrying them herself. She had to admit that it felt nice having him carrying them for her, as much as she wouldn’t tell him that. 

They were heading up the lane back up towards the school, in all her years of walking this path she had never properly taken in the surroundings. “It really is beautiful here,” she mused, more to herself than to him. 

“Not as beautiful as you.”

“Smooth Terry, really smooth.” She said, bumping him with her hip. A wide grin on her face at the fact she thinks that she is beautiful. 

“Are you complaining?” He asked her, a look of shock on his face. 

“Not one bit,” she smiled again. Her cheeks were beginning to ache with how much she had been smiling today. “I have really loved today,” she said. Her feet stopping as she pulled him to the side of the lane. The gates to the school grounds were a little ahead and she just wanted to say this all before they headed back in. “I would love us to be able to do this again Terry, I didn’t realise how much I needed a guy to treat me right. Ron loved me, but he never treated me like this, and the way you’ve been today shows me that we could be good together, really good together.” 

“I agree, and I definitely want to do this again, and soon if we can,” Terry said, taking her hand and leading her back to the grounds. “As soon as possible, as long as you want to as well, of course.” 

She turned towards him, “I would very much love it to happen again,” she took a step towards him before kissing him. 

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him and letting himself get lost in the kiss. 

“Get a room,” someone hissed at them as they passed. 

Hermione broke away, “maybe we should head up to the castle now?” She asked, “we can continue this at a later date.” 

“Definitely.” Terry smiled, stealing one more quick kiss before they headed up to the castle and to dinner. 


End file.
